A's Owner John Fisher Gives Check-in on Las Vegas Construction

A's owner provides a quick progress report on the team's ballpark progress in Las Vegas

Mar 6, 2023; Sacramento, California, USA; Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher claps after the game between the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

The A's were in Las Vegas for Big League Weekend, a two-game series where they took on the Los Angeles Angels in an effort to connect with the people of the Silver State ahead of their arrival in 2028. The hope is that they're turning some of these baseball fans into A's fans that will help them to fill up the planned ballpark on The Strip in a couple of years.

In attendance on Sunday was A's owner John Fisher, who talked about the ballpark project and the progress they've made to date. Here are the quotes related to the project as relayed from the video that Mick Akers took and posted on social media.

"For us, it's gone, you know, I mean, these kinds of projects have all kinds of ups and downs to them. But we think that we're actually in a really good place. We're on track time-wise. Our plan was to finish at the beginning of 2028, and that's still our plan.

"You know, we're on budget. And for the most part, most of the project is already been bid out, so we feel like we're in pretty good shape from a budget perspective."

That bit at the end where he said that most of the project has been "bid out" essentially means that he has received quotes on pieces of the project in order to find the best possible price for what he's after. In other words, he's not anticipating any surprise expenditures at the moment, as most everything has been priced out.

More questions remain

One question that popped up immediately is what the budget for this project actually is. He mentions that they're on budget, but one of the main questions about the Vegas ballpark plan is how much it will end up costing. He was not asked that question in the clip.

The A's have also yet to set a guaranteed maximum price for the construction, which is unusual, as they are typically set before construction begins.

Just those little tidbits of information would make all of the remaining doubt about the project go away instantly. It's obvious that there is something being built on the Las Vegas Strip, and that progress is being made towards the ballpark. The outline is undeniable.

The question is how much it will end up costing, and how that funding is going to come together. It's literally been the only question people have had since the project was announced, and the only one that still doesn't have an answer.

The other interesting part of Fisher's quote is that he said projects like this have all kinds of ups and downs. There was no specificity as to what those are or were, or if he was just speaking in generalities.

All of the communication from the club has been that everything is going the best that any ballpark project has ever happened. What have those downs been? It's not a huge deal, but for inquisitive minds that have been waiting for an A's ballpark for two decades, it would be nice to have more information than has been communicated.

Regardless, the ballpark appears to be moving along just fine, and should be ready for Opening Day, 2028, barring any unforeseen setbacks.

For more A's news and insights, follow Jason @ByJasonB on X, or the site @InsideTheAs!